Duah
|Reported = 2000|Researchers = • Bill Gibbons • Bruce Irwin • Jonathan Whitcomb}}The duah is a cryptid flying reptile reported from , noted for its glowing underside. Although often synonymised with the smaller ropen, it is considered to be distinct from that cryptid.Shuker, Karl ShukerNature: I THOUGHT I SAW A TERROR SAUR! - DO PREHISTORIC FLYING REPTILES STILL EXIST? karlshuker.blogspot.com 10 May 2019 Description The duah is said to resemble a pterosaur such as Pteranodon, with leathery wings spanning up to 6 to 7 metres, a relatively long neck, and a bony crest on its head. Its underside is said to glow, perhaps due to highly reflective scales. It has allegedly been observed circling over lakes, and resting in mountain caves. According to Robert F. Helfinstine, who sought the "ropen" of Papua New Guinea, the glowing underside can be turned off and on at will, like the bioluminescence of a firefly. Like the true ropen, it is said to have a preference for decaying flesh, leading it to dig up human graves and carry off the corpses so often that, in certain parts of New Guinea, graves are said to have special coverings to deter "ropens". Sightings Undated Bill Gibbons claimed that a missionary had reported seeing multiple duahs in a mountain cavern. Helfinstine was told that a local had once encountered a sleeping duah and tied its leg to a rock to prevent its escape, only to return with his companions to see it flying away with the log still hanging from its leg. In another story recounted to Helfinstine, a duah had grabbed a woman on a beach and carried her about four miles away to a mountain. 1994 or 1995 According to Bill Gibbons, a missionary claimed to have seen a duah fly by a lake in 1995. Jonathan Whitcomb interviewed eyewitnesses from Gumalong, Umboi Island, who claimed to have seen a huge ropen whilst hiking near Lake Pung as boys,Whitcomb, Jonathan (2006) Searching For Ropens: Living Pterosaurs In Papua New Guinea, WingSpan Press, ISBN 978-1595941534 in either 1994 or 1995. Given its size, Karl Shuker and George Eberhart both speculate that this "ropen" was in fact a duah. Theories The duah's appearance, particularly its bony crest, has led to obvious comparisions with pterosaurs such as the Cretaceous Pteranodon. However, the description of the duah carrying off human bodies and even a living woman is inconsistent with a pterosaur identity. As noted by Karl Shuker, all known pterosaurs had very weakly-muscled feet without opposable digits, and would not have been able to lift a person. Consequently, unless it has evolved more powerful feet over millions of years' absence from the fossil record, either the duah is not a pterosaur, or the stories of it carrying off people and corpses are untrue. Shuker suggests that the duah's supposed bioluminescence could be generated by glowing fungi stuck to the animal from cave walls or tree branches, in which case it's reputed ability to control the glowing would be an exaggeration. Notes and references Category:Cryptids Category:Oceania Category:Papua New Guinea Category:Flying reptiles Category:Theory: Living fossil - Pterosaur